Please Digg this story. It is good for me and the site. Thanks!

http://digg.com/gaming_news/Dave_Halverson_Speaks_The_Demise_Of_Play_Magazine

Dugg.  Good work Frank.  You'll find a preview of the first issue of the Gamefan on the Hardcore Gaming 101 blog here:

http://blog.hardcoregaming101.net/2010/04/gamefan-issue-1-is-done.html

Hey I can really respect this response.  I will say this industry has become so weirdly multi-layered that finding pundits who are spending their time criticizing the critics is too easy (something I now feel guilty of myself).  I may have leveled a couple of criticisms of Play in my response to your original article Frank, but I still stand by the positive things I said about how Play was a vital voice in a chorus of criticism.  It ain't a chorus if everyone's singing the same notes.  I somehow missed the original Gamefan.  At the time I was reading EGM and Next Gen I think.  But what the hey I'd love to check it out. 

That said, the digital model like you're seeing in the new EGM has got to be part of the model moving forward.  Online is interactive in a community sense--that seems to be how it works best.  Print is great but no one can afford to lather newstands with copies in hopes of garnering subscribers anymore (not in this vast America of ours, anyway).  I think the digital print has got to be the hook to get enough subscribers (without giving it away and hoping for ads to pay the bills), so you can make high-quality paper print mags without newstand presence.  It's a working theory:  EGMi/Edge model kind of thing.

Awesome, Frank. Many people were quick to vilify Dave, so I'm curious how everyone will respond to what he had to say. Good job.

Excellent journalism, Frank! While many big sites seemed to ignore this story, you went the extra mile to get the word straight from the man himself. I'll be interested to see the new GameFan and what he does with it.

"What a mess the US press has become. I can't sit by and watch great games get massacred while assembly line blockbusters get the red carpet treatment from freelancers who can't brave anything beyond extended tutorials or understand art beyond different ways to render a meat-head. Bigger isn't only not better, it's debilitating. The industry is all out of whack. That said, man, it hurts to read what people are saying. I've worked my ass off for going on 2 decades and have 3 kids. Like I need Joe-bonehead hurling accusations for them to ponder. But I can't involve myself in all the cynicism. That stuff drags you down. I prefer to stay positive and live every day."

Ain't that the truth. Anyway, this is an excellent piece, Thanks for going through the trouble to discover what's happening. I'm glad he's coming back with another magazine, and hopefully the business won't be mismanaged this time.

Good job Frank!  What I liked about Play was that when I had an odd-ball title that I liked, often the only print voice that followed what I was feeling was Play.  I hope DH is successful if for no other reason that we have more viable choices when it comes gaming magazines. 

Although I was never a fan of Play for reasons I'll keep to myself, I at least respect Halverson and the staff for keeping their voice consistently genuine like they did.  Sure, they beat us over the head with their die-hard indie loving to the point of pretentiousness -- but someone's gotta cover something else besides Call of Duty and God of War.

And I never like to see print go away; I think there is an art in layout and design as well as writing that just isn't captured online.  So in that regards, I will miss Play.

Great job, Frank.  It's nice to see someone write an article out of admiration of the subject rather than pandering to a crowd.

Great work, Frank! I'm looking forward to checking out this new/old mag for the first time!

Great journalism, Frank! I wasn't a fan of Play myself, but I am sad for the writers and editors who put their hearts into that magazine.   

I still can't believe that GameFan is coming back. I was practically raised on that magazine as far as my gaming life goes. Matter of fact, Dave and GameFan almost single-handedly shaped my taste in videogames, which still holds strong today. Play was cool and all, but deep down I was always wishing it was still GF; it just never felt the same really, or as good. It's a shame that some things went down the way they did with Play, but that's just life, and it happens all the time in industries such as these. I don't see it as Dave's fault, but more of a series of unfortunate events which lead to the overall downfall. And hey, if it means GameFan making a comeback, well, it's all worth it. Great responses, Dave. Anxiously awaiting the first issue to hit retailers. 

PS: Does anyone know what the new GameFan website URL will be?

No offense, but this isn't journalism. This is PR for David Halverson.

Sending off an e-mail and waiting for a response is not journalism. Halverson has now had his say without any questions posed to him.

Former Play staff members aren't in hiding. They're out there, working new jobs, and could have provided a counterbalance to Halverson's statements. But that might have entailed work, or digging, and the writer was obviously not going to have any of that.

I don't wish Halverson or Gamefan ill will. But there were shenanigans at Play, and some very good people are still owed a lot of money for their efforts.

Just so you know, person who apparently is afraid to post under their real name, I never claimed this was some kind of epic attempt at journalism. I agree that it was just a platform for Dave to give his side of the story. I did consider it worth getting out there since there was little to no coverage of Play's closing. I am trying to get in touch with members of the Play staff and trying to create a post tracing events from the before Play, to the demise and all the way to the rebirth of GameFan. Most of my efforts have been met with either no response or people being unwilling to speak on the record. Since I am uncomfortable just posting a piece without any named sources I have not posted any of this digging.

Sadly, since I am not a professional journalist and am in school with finals at the moment this has been put on temporary hold.

PS- Please post under your own name from now on. That is site policy, but you would know that if you had taken two seconds to read while signing up for this site. ;)

It wasn't any kind of journalism at all, Frank. It was a free advertisement for Halverson and his new magazine.

How come you're so anal about the rules when it applies to me, but not to others posting under pseudonyms?

Apparently you have trouble reading but if you could read then you would have seen where I said "I never claimed this was some kind of epic attempt at journalism." You need to re-read my last comment again. It explains my plan for following up on this piece. I am not a huge fan of Halverson, but thought getting his point of view was worth while. I'm sorry if that rubs you the wrong way... actually I'm not at all. I'm just saying that so hopefully you will go away.

Also, I hadn't noticed the post by "Zero" before, but the whole point of bringing up your lame pseudonym was to make you feel like what you are... An ass.

PS- You should probably change your name to Bilious G.

If you can't state your opinions under your real name then go troll somewhere else.  Neither you nor your opinions are welcome here.  Good work Frank.

As others have stated, please use your real name if you want to participate in the discussion here. 

Toss off. I posted a valid criticism of this "story" and your response is to call me an ass and whine and pule about a pseudonym?

That's a great incentive to get someone to post under his real name.

Also, if you had read the comments, you would note that some posters here confused this advertisement for real journalism.

Demian: You're better than this.

Please don't comment on my stories anymore Lugubrious G. You obviously want to ignore the way I told you that I was trying to follow up on this story. You are just trying to be belligerent and are not welcome on my pieces any more.

PS- You don't happen to go by the name Gamemaster4747 on 1up, do you?

Frank:

You did a crappy job posting a free ad for Halverson and not doing a shred of digging to balance out your "story." A follow-up a month after the fact isn't going to serve anyone.

And the name-calling and whining isn't really appropriate. If you weren't so thin-skinned and eager to fight, you'd realize my criticisms were meant to point you in the right direction.

I don't need you pointing me in any kind of a direction and like I said before, quit commenting here. You are not welcome. From what I can tell have only signed up to this site to post aggressive comments. You are not wanted.

@Lugubrious, what's it like being a sniper? I've always wanted to be one.

LOL @Michael.

Lugubrious G: "please use your real name if you want to participate in the discussion here".

You're better than this.

Please inform me as to what discussion is going on here. I brought up the fact that this was an advertisement for Dave Halverson and his new magazine, that a balanced perspective was needed, and the mob did some name-calling interspersed with whining I wasn't using my real name. There's no discussion. None at all.

And you are right, Andrew. I am better than this. Simply by virtue of the fact that I am willing to offer real criticism instead of making cheap shots ensures I am way better than this,

Browbeating someone because they offer a differing perspective is a fine way to encourage discussion.

It was not your opinion that is the issue, it is the manner it is voiced in. I responded to your first post and you persisted in acting high and mighty when I had already admitted that I agreed with you and was already working on pieces to expand on this story beyond Dave's opinion of events.

That was not good enough for you and you never once wanted to partake in a discussion. You wanted to attack my work and then act like you were being persecuted when myself and others decided we do not like you or the tone of voice you post in.

You have already been asked to leave, and yet you still persist on posting. I find it laughable that you are trying to act like there was even a second you wanted to participate in any kind of discussion here. You just signed up to snipe my piece and have yet to post on any other pieces, and more importantly have yet to post your own writing so we can judge the merit of your work.

Go away!

Pointing out why everyone sucks and you rule isn't going to encourage discussion either. Hey kettle; you're black!

That I have persisted  and not sunk to name calling  tends to indicate I am more than willing to discuss the matter. I wouldn't have brought the issue up if I didn't want to further the commentary.

The simple truth is that there is a larger story here -- and it deserves to have been told in full, not in some piecemeal way. The bankruptcy documents for Fusion Media indicate more than $1 million is owed to its  creditors, among them former members of the Play Staff. To have allowed Halverson to have his say without any context is poor work indeed.

@"Lugubrious" But you aren't discussing the matter.  You're repeatedly lobbing the same "criticism" at Frank.  He responded a long time ago.  Frank has stated that he's interested in pursuing that larger story and is trying to do so.  He isn't a professional, working journalist with the time and resources such a position would bring.  To boot, he's a student.  He's doing the best with the time and resources he actually has (and his best is damn good).  

That's why this story is on Bitmob -- a web site created specifically for such work -- and not in the New York Times.

I myself feel like a tool just for repeating what he's already said and stating the obvious, but there's not much more any of us can do until you come up with something new to say.

I'll also repeat that you really have no place to judge the man or his writing as long as you're posting under a pseudonym.  You're taking advantage of the opportunity to hold Frank accountable for what you consider to be a poor story but not allowing him the same right.  There are words for that: cowardice, hypocrisy, douchebaggery.

(OK, I made up the last one).